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Topic: Klutz64 Stumbles Through Persona 3 FES

So the fate of my Star Ocean 4 thread has been pretty much sealed at this point. I stopped playing for a few weeks and now I just can't get myself invensted in it again. However, I can always allow for some Persona in my life, so I decided to start journaling (it's a word now) my current run in Persona 3. I'll start taking notes from now on, but here's a few thoughts from what I've played so far:

AprilWelcome to the Velvet Room

> The opening is good for some laughs. The other characters can call him "special" all they want, the main character's basically a sociopath for having such a mild reaction to his first experience of the Dark Hour: Sky is green, coffins everywhere, nobody to be found, Protag: "Huh. Peculiar."

> I love how good both this game and Persona 4 are at setting a mood that first day that makes you feel out of your element alongside the protagonist. Makes me wonder if people who don't get as nervous as I do when traveling have the same feeling.

> God I hate Mitsuru. Definitely one of those "Love to Hate" situations, though. She's an excellent character, just one that annoys the hell out of me. Come to think of it, Yukari is kind of a snob, too. Guess that's what you get for making the setting "Rich kids' school"

> Ah, yes. The Stamina system. At least the game makes it more convenient to visit the dungeons frequently than P4 but it's still kind of frustrating. It was a godsend in my first playthrough when I discovered how useful the restrooms are.

> Minor note: I love that Elizabeth uses the 'proper' pronunciation of "Karaoke," not that I'm some kind of nutty Japanophile that screams at folks for using the 'American' pronunciation, but it was still a nice touch.

> Did anyone else play through most of the game without splitting up their party in Tartarus? The idea just makes me so apprehensive. I know you get more done and better exp, but it just feels safer to take it slow.

> I much prefer the music style in P4 than P3, I don't hate the music here, but it just feels "weightier" (That, and thanks to a friend I can no longer listen to the Spring Outside School theme without hearing inappropriate lyrics)

That's all for now! Like I said, for May I'll take some notes and maybe even spruce things up with screenshots and gifs, but that depends on how lazy I'm feeling.

EDIT: Gonna have a little more fun with this and have the community here help me make some decisions. So first poll: Do I focus on Charm, Academics, or Courage?

> Quick curiosity: Does retiring to your room early affect your chances of getting/recovering from fatigue at all? Or is it just wasting time like returning to Dojima's House after school in P4?

> I love the boss designs in this game! The one on the train manages to be simultaneously lewd and grotesque and it just works so well with the themes in the game. And dat muzik, too!

> Speaking of which, trying to reduce my comparisons of P3 and P4, but I do want to mention that I much prefer the boss events in P3 than the typical "Boss at the end of a dungeon."

> Only other comparison I want to make is that it seems kind of funny that I have an easier time amassing Yen in the game where you have to find it than the one that gives you some after every battle (plus more when you sell materials).

> My memory of this game is terrible. First I miss my chance at the Foreign Student social link (Did not even realize that was missable), then I spend four days trying to remember which soda Maiko wants (Could've sworn it was Cielo Mist) and finally thought I had also missed the club social links before remembering they reopen for membership later in the game.

> I wonder what affects the grade you get on exams in this game. I know in P4, your overall Knowledge stat is more important than how often you study close to exams, but that doesn't seem to be the case in P3, or maybe it is and you can only really easily get a good grade on the first exams in a NG+

> Another little detail I love is the lecture the Monday after exams is a review of the test. It's completely superfluous, but I still feel like it adds to the experience.

> I'm ashamed to admit that this playthrough is the first time I've noticed that a lot of the equipment has random added effects. What makes it worse is that your fellow SEES members mention this for at least two weeks in May.

> The "distressed" state of enemies is so useful. Almost guaranteed critical in battle, and outside battle you can just run through earlier floors collecting loot as much as you want without ever worrying about stamina.

> One of the benefits/problems of having such a terrible memory is I can't remember where checkpoints are, so it's nice to have a bit of added tension in exploring Tartarus but also means I'm constantly fighting enemies way above my level because I'm worried I won't have enough time to make it the rest of the way (Although it does add a fun level of challenge to the Guardian fights).

> That being said, I have no idea what happened May 31. I made it to the next checkpoint on the previous visit and was just doing some leveling. But I could not. Stop. Dying. I eventually gave up and ended up using my entire stash of revive items on my party members. To tell the truth, it was mostly because I was being stubborn and didn't want to change out my Persona (I have a Jack Frost with that heart bonus thing)

>EDIT: Forgot to mention it was kind of strange playing through May right now since 2015's calendar is the same as 2009's

> I wonder what affects the grade you get on exams in this game. I know in P4, your overall Knowledge stat is more important than how often you study close to exams, but that doesn't seem to be the case in P3, or maybe it is and you can only really easily get a good grade on the first exams in a NG+

I think your grade is based partly on your exam answers, and partly on your academic level. I don't think studying right before exams helps in particular, it's just another opportunity to raise your academics.

I dated Chihiro on my first playthrough. I don't know if she was the best choice, storyline-wise, but she was just so cuuute.

Oddly enough, when nobody was responding that's the stat I started focusing on. And yeah, that's the stat for pursuing Fuuka.

I never did much with Chihiro's social link until this playthrough, and oh my God she's such a prude! I stopped working on that social link as soon as I realized that was the direction they were going. I realize that's probably part of the development of the social link, but it was still annoying enough for me to back away.

Speaking of which, I'm finally working more on the Online Game social link this time. I never got very far with that one, either, but I'm starting to guess that Maya ends up being Miss Toriumi or one of the other teachers.

If you do wel on exams, Mitsuru will reward you. Since you don t like her, I guess you wouldn't be interested in maxing your academics to date her tho.

I was actually thinking of working through her Social Link this playthrough, and I still might, but getting your academics to a decent level before that first exam when not doing a NG+ is pretty tough.

I never did much with Chihiro's social link until this playthrough, and oh my God she's such a prude! I stopped working on that social link as soon as I realized that was the direction they were going. I realize that's probably part of the development of the social link, but it was still annoying enough for me to back away.

Isn't it said that the more prudish girls are the kinkiest freaks in bed? Seriously, though, Chihiro is the kind of girl where you need to be patient and understanding to make the relationship work, but that patience will be rewarded.

is way more confident, she's a student leader and all the guys like Yusuke go gaga over her. They're all like, "She's amazing *drooool*"As for stat raising, I once tried to make Main an idiot slacker, but that locked me out of much content that I scrambled to get his grades up. That game forces you to be a Mary Sue.

« Last Edit: May 24, 2015, 01:18:04 PM by Dincrest »

Logged

"Golly, why can't I act right outside of a baseball game?" -Peppermint Patty

My other issue with Chihiro is that she feels like the game's "default girlfriend." Kind of like Rise in P4, she just feels like the girlfriend the game wants to be canon. I don't even know how to explain where that feeling comes from. You could argue that the game coaxes you into asking out Yuko just as much, but I still feel like the cliche nature of Chihiro's character has her come across as "GF option #1"

I forgot about the hotel scene, and I never played through all of the Answer (this time for sure!)

I did feel that way the first time I played as well, but then I take into account that the game makes you put just as much effort into pursuing Yukari as they do with the other party members. So from a pure story perspective, I can definitely agree that Yukari is the default girl, but taking the game itself into account, I still feel like Chihiro makes more sense.